


Watch Me While I Bloom

by nevillesIongbottom



Series: Rise Of A Sun/Fall Of A Star. ー ❪ a Harry Potter au ❫ [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Background Relationships, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Death Eaters, Evil Voldemort (Harry Potter), F/F, F/M, Good Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Grooming, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, LGBTQ Themes, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Minor Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Tom Riddle, Prophecy, Pureblood Society (Harry Potter), Sane Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:03:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29623176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevillesIongbottom/pseuds/nevillesIongbottom
Summary: Maeve Macleod was a weed and her parents plucked her from their home after learning she was a Squib. At only eleven-years-old with hardly a clue what a Squib was Maeve was thrust into the hands of the Divinations Professor then handed over to the noble and most ancient house of Black to serve as their maid. She becomes the caretaker of Cygnus and Druella's four young daughters. Their eldest daughter, Bellatrix Black, becomes attached to Maeve's hip, and the rest of it seems to be fate.Now fate is a fickle thing, easily tangible yet it can be so sure of itself. As sure as the raw, deadly magic that flows through Bellatrix Black veins or the bad blood that has lodged itself into every crevice Maeve Macleod's body, or as sure as the blossoming love and loyalty the two girls have for the other. Fate is a fickle thing but the meeting of these two souls were anything but. Designed by a vengeful seer, Bellatrix and Maeve form a bond that is destined to cause discord and destruction; fate is a fickle thing but Bellatrix and Maeve's love for each other and their family is anything but.
Relationships: Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange & Narcissa Black Malfoy & Andromeda Black Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Alice Longbottom, Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Original Female Character(s), Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Regulus Black/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Rise Of A Sun/Fall Of A Star. ー ❪ a Harry Potter au ❫ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180088
Kudos: 4





	1. The Prophecy Of . . .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Watch Me While I Bloom Trailer](https://youtu.be/fIpBvbPQvB0)   
>  [Watch Me While I Bloom Main Cast](https://imgur.com/a/lsol3Tg)   
>  [Watch Me While I Bloom Extended Cast](https://imgur.com/a/L1uOV4D)   
>  [Watch Me While I Bloom Book Cover](https://aureliasblack.tumblr.com/post/643969554680266752/watch-me-while-i-bloom-the-marauders-era-can-be)   
>  [Watch Me While I Bloom Pinterest Board](https://pin.it/7HPrjf0)   
>  [Watch Me While I Bloom Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rso2HPzs8tLW1yYeHaGzu?si=dd10bbc9fca74cec)

****

**WATCH ME WHILE I BLOOM**!

 **ooo**. THE PROPHECY OF . . . 

* * *

**THE NOTION OF WEE CHILD BEING THE DESTRUCTION** of Lord Voldemort was spoken into existence long before Harry Potter was born, long before his brave parents, James and Lily Potter were even born. It started when Lord Voldemort was still mostly known as Tom Riddle, he and his wife had recently discovered they were going to have a baby. Tom Riddle was never interested in having a family, he married his wife because of blood status and for her ability to see the future, he never married for any other purpose. Tom Riddle was indifferent towards his soon to be born and then a garbled prophecy fell from his wife's lips: a baby would be his downfall. When his wife gives birth to a healthy baby boy several months later, Tom Riddle comes to the conclusion that he cannot allow any of his heirs live and murders his son cold blood while he lay in his wife's arms.

 **IT ALL HAPPENED BEFORE ESROM RIDDLE COULD SEE it** , one moment her son was alive, healthy in her arms about to meet his father for the first time and then there was a green light and then he was dead; her son was dead. She had predicted many deaths in her lifetime but none of them could have prepared her for the death of her son, at the hands of her husband no less. It was for the better, Tom had said, something about a prophecy she had spoken awhile back, a prophecy about his demise at the hands of a baby. Their son was a threat and Tom could never have that. And so, Esrom Riddle and all her fury decided that her husband would have his demise, at the hands of baby, but she would make sure it was by her design. 

**NOW FATE IS A FICKLE THING, IT IS** always changing, scarcely set in stone and Esrom knew that well. She came from a long line of famed seers, the Trelawneys were a proud pureblood family that were famous for their ancestors that had the ability to see the future. Esrom Trelawney was the first since Cassandra Trelawney two generations prior and her parents had been so proud of her. Unlike most Trelawneys whom were sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, Esrom was sorted into Slytherin where she met poor but charming orphan, Tom Riddle. She learned early on that he was a descandent of the great Salazar Slytherin himself and decided they would make a great pair. At one point, they probably were in love but it wasn't enough for her or Tom, he wanted power and so did she which is why they married; they at the very least cared about each other for their own reasons and that was enough. Until Tom murdered Tybalt in her arms and he sealed his once fickle fate. 

**HER VISIONS WERE SCARCELY SET IN STONE, OFTEN** ever changing glimpses of the future were always on her mind, even prophecised fates could be changed if swayed properly. But, every once and awhile Esrom Riddle came across cemented paths. When she was first introduced to Bellatrix Black, the granddaughter of Pollux Black and one of Tom's colleges, she saw a strange future of a redhead, someone whom she assumed was an older Bellatrix, and a baby that had golden hair, literal golden hair, and most important of all, her husband's certain demise. It was blurry, it could be changed, tampered with, but it was a future for five-year-old Bellatrix Black. The more she crossed paths with Bellatrix, the more she saw the same future, sometimes it was different or blurry but it always included the redhead, that golden child, and her husband's demise. And Esrom was determined to make that come true no matter the cost. 

**WHEN IT IS DISCOVERED THAT MAEVE MACLEOD DID** not receive her Hogwarts Acceptance Letter, her father wrote to Hogwarts to see if it was a mistake or if his daughter was a filthy Squib. That very same day, Esrom Riddle ran into a fifth year Slytherin Student, Moira Macleod and she was greeted by the redhead that had been plaguing her visions for years. It was to be set in stone, before the Macleod's letter even arrived at Hogwarts, Esrom Riddle was on her way to the Macleod household ready to seal the fate of her husband's demise and change the lives of Bellatrix Black and Maeve Macleod for the better. Or so Esrom tells herself, it helps the woman sleep better at night.

 **MAEVE MACLEOD, THE THIRD YOUNGEST OF HER FIVE** siblings had been waiting years for her acceptance letter, she was unlike her other siblings for only showing accidental magic once but it was strong magic and her parents had always told her she would make a powerful witch one day. And then her letter never arrived on her long awaited eleventh birthday. She is told that she is a Squib which is something she had never heard of before but her parents had, they were furious about it. Maeve a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff, the Macleods are one of the family descended from the great Hufflepuff family and yet they had managed to produce the first Squib in centuries. They had been unfairly tarnished with bad blood — their daughter is a Squib. A stain on their family's prestigious tapestry of Pureblood witches and wizards. For the first decade of her life, she never once heard her family brag about their Blood Status but that changed when Esrom Riddle had showed up at the Macleod farm announcing Mae's absence of magic. Suddenly she was dirt, she was nothing, she was filthy and she was cast aside; her parents didn't bat an eye as Esrom Riddle took her away. 

**BELLATRIX BLACK WAS THE EPITOME OF THE PERFECT** daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect pureblood. She was almost too perfect, too loyal to her parents who never wanted her or her younger sisters but she had her flaws — too soft for the family she was born in, a taste for happiness that the Blacks were destined to never have, a taste for warm love and a fierce loyalty to match her own, and the deadliest of all, her curious mind. Which made her perfect for Esrom Trelawney. At eleven years old, Bellatrix Black meets Maeve Macleod and it's first taste of everything she hadn't even known she had been craving. Maeve Macleod, timid, creative, and wise fit Bellatrix, loyal, curious, and cunning like the gloves she is forced to wear so she won't taint anything. They were perfect for each other, star-crossed lovers problem aside, they were meant for each other. And with Esrom Riddle pulling the strings, they were deadly together. 

**FATE IS A FICKLE THING, EASILY TANGIBLE YET** it can be so sure of itself. As sure as the raw, deadly magic that flows through Bellatrix Black veins, and the bad blood that has lodged itself in the very heart of Maeve Macleod, and as sure as the blossoming love and loyalty they have for the other. Fate is a fickle thing but the meeting of these two souls were anything but. Their fate together, designed by a vengeful seer, Bellatrix Black and Maeve Macleod form a bond that is destined to cause discord and destruction; fate is a fickle thing but Bellatrix and Maeve's love for each other and their family is anything but. Esrom Riddle's plan to take down her husband blooms through the love that the two young women have for each other, it's almost ironic that the one thing that would've saved Tom Riddle is the cause of his downfall.

* * *

* * *

book **one** of the **rise of a sun/fall of a star** series

pre marauders' era ── the first wizarding war, _1981_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Maeve and Bellatrix ( from [Make Them Gold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26798431/chapters/65376598) are getting their own story!! ) I had this published before, it was called Bad Blood but I changed it because 1.) I love Hayley Williams and 2.) after using the song it's named after for the trailer/video edit I realised that the title fits better with the theme of this series and with the plot of this book whereas Bad Blood only fit in with this book. Watch Me While I Bloom is a song about being a better person which matches Make Them Gold another song about being a better person and since they're set in the same series my brain thinks it's only fitting. Anyways this book is mostly about Mae being a better person than everyone believes her to be because she's a Squib as well as it being an alternate universe where Bellatrix is good, or at least doesn't want to serve Voldemort because she wants a badass Squib Girlfriend instead. 
> 
> SO MAETRIX'S STORY IS BACK and I'm so excited because I missed writing about them even though I was never able to get past the first two chapters! I now have the prologue as well the first handful of chapters written! I have the plot better planned out then before so it's going well and I'm super excited to share everything with you!
> 
> Mae and Bellatrix are a background couple in my other story Make Them Gold which is the sequel to this story! Neither have to be read in any particular order, the order is set in chronological order that the stories are set in, Watch Me While I Bloom being set in the 60s to the 80s and Make Them Gold being set in the 90s! And you don't have to read Make Them Gold but I would appreciate it if you did because Make Them Gold is where it all started, writing wise, and it's my mangum opus! Also it's Neville Longbottom endgame love story and Neville is severely underrated so what's not to love??? 
> 
> This is an alternate universe to Harry Potter and not a lot stays canon compliant!! And that's ll I have to say, please read the warnings down below and check the tags, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story!!!
> 
> Watch Me While I Bloom will feature scenes of child abuse, physical and emotional, Bellatrix Black as well as many of his young female Death-Eaters are groomed by Tom Riddle for years, there is implied underage sex but it's not shown/written about in detail, it's only mentioned through conversation. There are scenes of domestic abuse, implied rape/sexual assault, suicide attempts. Mental Illness, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD are prevalent topics in Watch Me While I Bloom. If any of these things trigger you I suggest you either don't read at all or are careful while reading!
> 
> originally started: April, 27th, 2016  
> rewrite started: January, 22nd, 2021  
> originally published: can't remember  
> rewrite published: February, 23rd, 2021  
> finished: to be decided
> 
> [ flower pixel art found on google ]  
> [ chapter title cards made by me ]


	2. Prologue: Absence Of Magic

**WATCH ME WHILE I BLOOM**!

 **prologue**. ABSENCE OF MAGIC

* * *

**IT ONLY TAKES** three words for Maeve Macleod's life to be completely uprooted. "Where's my letter," little Mae had asked her loving and doting parents on her eleventh birthday and everything changed. The letter in question: her Hogwarts Acceptance Letter. A letter she'll never receive, unlike her two older siblings, Mae is a Squib. She cannot go to Hogwarts and therefore, she never received it on her eleventh birthday and so when she asks her parents where it is, she believes they're hiding it to have a little fun. Mae's so unaware of what those three little words could do to the life she knows and imagine her surprise when her quiet, caring mother practically spits at her for asking such an innocent question.

She's a Squib, her mother screams, throwing her cake to the floor, her letter should've been there hours ago. She's a Squib, her father cries, and retreats to his study. She's a lowly child, she ruins everything, she ruins the name of the great Macleods — how can the descendants of the great Helga Hufflepuff produce a filthy Squib? Her parents once loving and doting are now furious and disgusted, they had such high hopes for Mae when she had her first and only show of accidental magic. But, apparently that wasn't enough to elicit an acceptance letter, Mae wasn't enough of a witch to be accepted in Hogwarts or in her family.

As soon as her father comes back down from his study, her mother starts screaming that she's got to go, throwing Mae's clothes at her. She screams how she's always known there was something wrong with Mae, if she had known, she had never shown it until now and Mae's so confused — she's only just found out what a Squib means today. Her father, Cassidy tries to calm his wife, Maureen, down ("I've sent a letter to Hogwarts; maybe there's been a mistake, love.") but she won't calm down, pointing a knife at Mae ("Don't fool yourself, Cassidy, you've known it too, we should've paid more attention to her lack of magical outburts!") and pacing the kitchen.

"Papa," Mae whimpers as she wipes tears from her eyes, "Papa, I'm sorry."

She doesn't know what she can do to fix this, how can she make herself better. Mae reaches out for her father but he jumps back, a look of disgust crossing his usually kind-looking features; he's acting as if she's diseased.

"Tell Hogwarts that I'll work extra hard to be a good witch," Mae cries, "Tell them that I can prove that I'm not a Squib, I have magic! I'm a good witch! Tell them, papa!"

"Stop crying, Maeve," Cassidy says cooly, "There's nothing you can do if you're a Squib, you can't change that. The only thing that can is if Hogwarts has made a mistake and forgotten your letter but then you wouldn't be a Squib, you'd be a witch — like a good Macleod should be."

"I am a good Macleod, papa," Mae insists, "I do all my chores, I always listen, and I never start fights, I'm a good Macleod!"

Maureen shakily points the knife at Mae "You filthy Squib, you are no Macleod."

Cassidy forces her to lower the knife, calmly saying: "You're making this situation worse, love. You must be patient, there is still a chance she may not be a Squib, there's still hope."

"No, there isn't! Hogwarts never makes mistakes like this!"

"You are indeed correct, Mrs. Macleod," A feathery Irish voice calls out, "Hogwarts does not make mistakes like this, Maeve Macleod here, is indeed a Squib."

"No," Mae screams, stopping her foot, "No, I can't be a Squib! I'm a Macleod, I'm a witch and I'm going to Hogwarts, give me my letter."

"Who are you," Cassidy asks, a little unnerved by the Irish woman's appearance in his home.

The Irish woman smiles fondly "I am Professor Esrom Riddle. Yes, my answer comes a wee bit early but I am the Divinations professor after all so one would hope I have the answers before everything."

"Maeve is a Squib?"

"Indeed she is, Mr. Macleod. There was no letter sent out for her, the magic that runs through her veins is much to weak to channel through a wand but it is there as I'm sure you've noticed at least once or twice. Mae sadly cannot attend Hogwarts as a student as she is a Squib."

Deadly silence falls upon the kitchen, her parents stare at her with the deepest loathing as Mae apologises profusely.

"I'll take her," Professor Riddle says, beaming at the couple, Mae gives a screech backing away from her and looking to her parents for help. Only they seem to be considering the idea.

"Mama, papa! No, you can't, she's a stranger, I won't go. I wanna stay, I'll be good!"

"You'll only throw her onto the streets," Esrom says, "She won't survive, it will corrupt her. I have use for her, I'm not too sure what yet but my Inner Eye tells me she'll be of great use to me, I will even pay money for her. I can guarantee she will be safe with me."

Esrom directs the last part at Cassidy Macleod, whom the Seer knows still has a soft spot for his daughter and always will.

"Just take her and go," Maureen says, pointing the knife at Mae again.

"No, mama," Mae cries, a huge sob cracks her voice and she reaches out for Cassidy, "Papa, no, don't let her take me. Papa, I'm sorry! I — I'll do better, I'll be good."

"Don't touch me," Cassidy says blankly, not meeting his daughter's tear-filled eyes.

"But, pa — papa —"

"No, Mae. You will leave this house and go with Professor Riddle," Cassidy says, "You may gather some of your things first if you wish."

Maureen glares heatedly at Cassidy, he places a hand in front of her to silence any objects she wanted to make.

"But, why," Mae sniffles, "Why — why are you making me leave?"

Esrom places an almost comforting hand on Mae's shoulder and answers the question Mae's parents refuse to "Because, my dear . . . Absence of magic equals absence of love."

* * *

* * *

**ON THAT VERY** same day that Mae's life falls apart, ten-year-old Bellatrix Black sits in her summer castle, completely unaware that her life was about to change for the better. The day had started out like any other day, the only thing that made the day slightly special was the fact her parents were having a meeting with the Riddles. But, even that was a usual thing, the meetings happened once every week or two. Bellatrix happens to be too young to be in the meetings but usually she gets to greet the Riddle couple which is something she always looks forward to. She quite likes Tom and Esrom Riddle even if the latter of the pair sort of freaks Bellatrix out, they are always kind to her and sometimes she wished they were her parents instead. However, this time around Bellatrix doesn't get to greet the Riddles because she's in trouble.

Although she hadn't done anything wrong, it was her two younger sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa who thought it'd be a good idea to play tag in the house. The two had wound up breaking one of their mother's fancy vases and Bellatrix, being the good older sister that she is, took the blame. Usually their mother dishes out the most horrible of punishments and Bellatrix always tried to save her sisters from them. Today, it seems their mother is too busy to dish out the normal punishment. So, instead, Druella settles for slapping Bellatrix on the cheek hard, hissing: "Get out of the house before you break anything else, you clumsy brat. Take your sisters with you." Druella shoves her youngest daughter, Lyra who's only a wee babe into Bellatrix's arms "Go on, don't come back until your father calls you."

Bellatrix gives the best curtsy she can with a squirming baby in her arms "Yes, mother."

As they descend the staircase to the castle grounds, Narcissa, in a fit of giggles, proposes they go play tag in the sunflower fields. Andromeda, the doting sister, agrees excitedly while Bellatrix rolls her eyes "Ah, yes, and somehow the two of you will manage to burn all the flowers down," Bellatrix says.

Narcissa turns to face her, clasping her tiny hands together and giving Bellatrix an innocent look "But, Bella, why would we want to hurt the flowers?"

Andromeda laughs gently "Bella is only joking, Cissy."

Narcissa pouts "Well, it's not a very funny joke. Why would we ruin such pretty flowers."

Bellatrix and Andromeda share amused grins, Bellatrix rolls her eyes as she she says "They're just flowers."

"Be careful, Frank might hear you," Andromeda says, giving Bellatrix a teasing smile.

Narcissa frowns, confused "But, Frank's not here."

"It's too late, Meda. He's heard me, he felt my words in his soul all the way back at Longbottom manor," Bellatrix says dramatically, "And the next time he sees me he's going to give me a long, boring lecture on how plants are the greatest gift to bless this planet!"

All the sisters giggle at Bellatrix's silly tone, when the settle down Andromeda sighs dreamily "I could listen to him talk about plants for hours."

Bellatrix rolls her eyes again, teasingly saying: "You're a sap, Meda! A big, ole sap!"

"You listen to Lia rant about Newt Scamander for hours on end, so leave me alone," Andromeda huffs, glowering at Bellatrix who sticks her tongue out at her.

Narcissa scowls at her two older sisters, she shouts to gain their attention and even stomps her feet "I wanna play tag!"

Andromeda and Bellatrix fall silent, glancing at the red-faced Narcissa, both knowing a tantrum is on the horizon "We shouldn't keep the princess waiting, Meda," Bellatrix says, placing Lyra down on the grass as Andromeda hisses at Bellatrix to be nice. Bellatrix calls forth a House-Elf to take care of the baby while she and her sisters go play tag in the sunflower fields, Narcissa gives a squeal of victory.

"Come one let's go, come on, Meda — you're it, Bella," Narcissa says excitedly, dragging Andromeda away from an annoyed Bellatrix.

"Of course, I am," Bellatrix calls after Narcissa, "I always am!"

Bellatrix is in no mood to play tag, her cheek and ego hurts and she'd much rather be doing anything else but she can't say no to her sisters, tantrums or not, she'd never say no to them. This doesn't mean she can take her sweet time trying to find them, she walks lazily in between the sunflowers and she can hear her sisters' giggles in the distance. Glancing over her shoulder, Bellatrix spots Almerry Castle, she's not too far away from it. She can see the portait of Phoebe Black through the big windows moving about; Bellatrix wonders if Mr. Riddle is still inside and maybe he'll still be there when her father calls them all back inside. She hears rustling to her left and loud sniffling, Bellatrix looks away from the castle and sighs exasperatedly "Who pushed who this time?"

A game of tag between the Black sisters either ended with something expensive breaking or one of them pushing either down and in tears. It's probably Narcissa who fell, Narcissa is usually the one who cries the most during tag despite wanting to always play it. Then from her right she hears her sisters giggling — both of them. Which means whoever is crying on her left, is neither of her sisters. Bellatrix clenches her fists at her sides.

"Hey, who's there," Bellatrix calls out, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. She receives no answer but they keep sniffling.

"This is private property," Bellatrix yells, stomping her foot, "My parents will hex you if you're here without their permission!"

This does the trick, a tiny redhead comes bursting forward "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I — don't hex me! She told me to wait here, I didn't know!"

Bellatrix blinks confused by the turn of events, she had expected another teenager dared to step foot on the haunted grounds of Almerry Castle or a drunkard from the Calderwood Pub. She had not expected a tiny redhead who looks to be about Narcissa's age to be on her family's grounds.

Poor wee Mae Macleod is having a very, very unfortunate day. Her parents practically disowned her, they only let her take as much as she could carry and definitely made the poor decision of only grabbing her art supplies and a sleeping gown, and they show no signs of softening up and letting her return. They handed her over to a cryptic seer who's very bad at comforting people — Esrom Riddle had to explain to her what a Squib is and had to tell her parents didn't love her anymore. And then Esrom apparates her into the middle of a large sunflower field next to a very elegant but creepy-looking castle and then proceeds to tell Mae to wait her while she tries to get her a job as a maid. And then Esrom disapparates with all of Mae's stuff, leaving her alone in a field which leads Mae to the situation she's in now; standing in front of tall, black-haired girl who both sounds and looks like she's wants to beat Mae up. This only makes Mae cry harder, this is the worst birthday ever, and Mae's got a feeling it's about to get worse.

"Please don't hex me! I don't know where I am, she just left me here!"

Bellatrix narrows her eyes, she studies the tiny girl before her, she's pale and bony, she's got red hair and freckles galore. Her lip curls in disgust "Are you a Weasley?"

"No!"

"Who are you then?"

"I'm . . . My name is Maeve Macleod. . . Or Mae, just Mae, actually," Mae sniffles, wrapping her arms around herself.

Bellatrix thinks, a Macleod, she's heard that name before. They're definitely a Pureblood family and she doesn't think they're Blood-Traitors, she's never heard her parents say anything particularly mean about them "I'm Bellatrix Black, what are you doing here?"

Mae shrugs, wiping tears from her eyes "I'm not really sure, actually, I'm kind of confused, really."

"How old are you, are you lost?"

"I'm eleven —"

Bellatrix's eyes widen in surprise "You look right puny for going on eleven. Why, you're no bigger than my little sister and she's going to be six soon — I'm ten!"

Bellatrix steps closer to Mae, she wants this girl to be her friend, she doesn't have a lot of friends her age that live on Almerry Island "Do you want to play with me — and my sisters, of course, we're playing tag, you should play with us!"

It's Mae's turn to be surprised "You want to play with . . . With me?"

Bellatrix nods eagerly, grinning.

"But . . . But, why," Mae's never had a friend outside of her siblings before and after finding out she's a no good Squib and how Esrom had described it, she didn't think she'd ever make friends. Yet, here she is not even a hour after her whole life had fallen apart, possibly making her first ever friend.

"Well, you're a Pureblood and I don't think you're a Blood-Traitor, that means you can play with us." Bellatrix says, holding her hand out for the teary-eyed Mae to take but she only flinches away from it.

Mae looks at the ground, trembling as she mutters: "I — I shouldn't touch you . . . I'm a Squib, I might contaminate you."

Bellatrix leans forward to hear her better "Sick? You don't look sick," She pulls away to study Mae, she is pale and she's very skinny and fragile looking, maybe she is sick.

"No, a Squib," Mae says a little louder this time although she looks deeply ashamed, "I'm a Squib."

"A Squib? Well, I've never heard of that. It doesn't matter, you're still a Pureblood so we can still play together — just don't sneeze on me," Bellatrix says then gives a nod as though that finalises everything.

Mae frowns, Esrom did tell her to stay put but she always doesn't want to say no to Bellatrix. While it's mostly because Bellatrix seems lonely it's also because she's frighteningly pretty and Mae doesn't want to make her mad — Bellatrix seems like the kind of girl who can squash her like a bug "Well . . . Okay, maybe for a bit but I have to come right back to this spot. Esrom told me to stay right here." Mae says hesitantly.

Bellatrix grins like a shark "Oh, Esrom? That's Mrs. Riddle! She's in my castle right now, what are you doing with her? Are you her daughter?"

"No . . . No, she just took me from my parents. They . . . They didn't want me anymore because I'm a Squib so she took me here and she told me that she knew a family who would be willing to take me in as a maid."

Bellatrix shows no sympathy at Mae's confession to being abandoned, she continues to grin like a shark "Well, don't worry about what Mrs. Riddle told you, she's in my castle right now, when we're done playing tag you can go find her so she doesn't have to find you. Come on play with me — don't you want to play with your friend?"

Mae blinks "Friend? You want to be friends with me, you — you want to be friends with a Squib?"

Bellatrix still has no clue what a Squib is, all she knows is that Mae is a Pureblood and she's close to her age, and is someone who isn't her sisters, so she nods and smiles "Of course, I want to be friends!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is cliche and sad,,, I tried to keep the cliche to the minimum but that's kinda hard to do when they literally meet because of fate/a cunning little seer. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter please let me know what you thought of it in the comments, your thoughts/feedback means a lot to me!


End file.
